Room air conditioner door construction and mounting means therefor



Dec. 2, 1969 w. w. HOYLE ROOM AIR CONDITIONER DOOR CONSTRUCTION AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR Flled March 26 1968 a m n I mm m 6 E0 0 0| VHW W A1 m A l w R E m WWO Y B l i I 0 0 q I -A/ l s v w m m n m w. w 3 W I A.|. Q A F fi S: W/ i w .M 2 3 3 G'\ 3 H m l United States Patent 3,481,153 ROOM AIR CONDITIONER DOOR CONSTRUC- TION AND MOUNTING MEANS THEREFOR Walter W. Hoyle, Fayetteville, N. assignor to Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 716,086

Int. Cl. F25d 23/02 US. Cl. 62-262 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE IZISCLOSURE Background of the invention The present invention relates to a room air conditioner having a decoratively treated multi-part front door pivotally mounted and swingably movable from closed to variably adjustable open positions, the door when open in any of the positions selected providing adequate air in-fiow and out-flow, and when closed, presenting not only a pleasing decorative appearance but also secluding from View the interior construction of the conditioner unit and the normally visible controls. The door assembly of this invention may feature, in addition to simplicity of mounting and reliability of operation, means for opening the electrical circuit to the unit when the door assembly is in a fully closed position.

Conventional room air conditioners when viewed from the front present a grille providing air openings to the evaporator compartment and also display the requisite button controls for turning the unit on and off, adjusting the cooling temperature, and for performing other functions known to the art. While the majority of the commercially available units perform with success, much improvement can be made in making the air conditioner look less like a machine by decoratively blending it into the decor of the surroundings, permitting the simplification of filter changes, and at the same time rendering easier control of the unit from an off to on position and vice versa.

Each of these objectives are achieved by the present invention through provision of a pivotally supported imperforate multi-sectional front door assembly which is susceptible of varied decorative treatments, and which when in an open position permits simple replacement of the air filter, and additionally embodies switch means for turning the unit off and on merely by manipulation of the door.

Summary of the invention The present invention is directed to a front door assembly for a room air conditioning unit comprised of an outer frame member suitably secured to the unit housing and pivotally mounting an inner frame member. The latter member fixedly carries a grille or plurality of louvers on its upper portion which provide air outlets, and is slotted at opposite sides to receive pins extending outwardly from an upper door pivotally mounted by side flanges secured to the outer frame member. The inner frame member also supports in fixed relation therewith a lower door which swings arcuately from a closed to variable open position upon corresponding movement of the upper door by means of the mentioned pivots, and by 3,481,153 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 the pin and slot arrangement to provide when open air ingress to the evaporator compartment. As was briefly stated, the invention may also feature a switch mechanism operative during door movement to actuate the off-on controls in the air conditioner electrical system.

Brief description of the drawings and 3, respectively, to further illustrate applicants advance in the art.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGURE 1 thereof, the room air conditioner of this invention is designated in its entirety by the numeral 10 and includes a housing 12 to which on the front face thereof is secured a door assembly generally indicated as 14 and which for purposes of the present description is comprised of movable upper and lower door portions 16 and 18 providing when they are in the open position shown air outlets and inlets 20 and 22, respectively. The air conditioning unit 10 includes a partition 11 forming an evaporator compartment 13 and a condenser compartment 15. A refrigeration system 24 is provided which includes compressor 26 and condenser coil 28 disposed in compartment 15, expansion means 30 and evaporator coil 28 disposed in compartment 15, expansions means 30 and evaporator coil 32 located in compartment 13. A fan motor 34 drives evaporator fan 36 and condenser fan 38. Fan 36 passes air through the evaporator coil 32 and fan 38 passes air through the condenser coil 28 via side inlet openings in the housing communicating with the condenser compartment.

With reference now also to FIGURES 2 through 5, the front door or panel assembly 14 of this invention includes an outer frame member or bezel 17, which may be substantially rectangular, fixedly secured to the air conditioner housing 12 on the front face thereof and provided adjacent its upper extremities with side wall apertures 19 receiving in journaled relation therewith pins 21 carried by an inner frame member 23 to permit swingable movement of the latter member in a manner to be subsequently described. The member 23, which may also be essentially rectangular, is encased in the outer frame member 17 when the air conditioner is not in operation, as is shown in FIGURE 2, and fixedly mounts along its upper portion a perforate grille 25 preferably taking the form of a plurality of spaced upstanding louvers angularly disposed with respect to one another to provide a divergent air flow path from the evaporator compartment 13.

The pivotally supported inner frame member 23 additionally features lower door portion 18, and is operatively associated with upper door portion 16, to which brief reference was earlier made, and which are desirably imperforate and decoratively treated in a manner to be harmonious with the surroundings of the room served by the air conditioning unit. Since, as is believed now apparent, the air flow pattern is not directly through a grille structure covering the entire front face of the air conditioner, in the manner known to the art, the upper and lower door portions 16 and 18 of this invention may carry adhesive backed fabric-like coverings to blend into any changes in the decorating scheme of the room in which the unit is placed. More importantly, the conventional mesh grille and constantly visible controls, which some regard as aesthetically unappealing, are masked from view when the unit is not in operation.

In this connection, a control panel 27 providing on-off switch actuation, fan motor switch actuator, low and high 0001 thermostatic control regulation, dampers and other known functions is secreted from view when the doors 16 and 18 are closed. The longitudinally extending control panel or bar 27 may be secured in any convenient manner to the unit housing 12, and the on-oif switch portion thereof may be actuated upon door closure in a manner later to be described.

The upper door portion 16, which may be provided with a finger engaging tab or knob 29, is pivotally mounted for arcuate swinging movement from an open to closed position by means of flanges 31 carried along opposite sides of the outer frame member 17, the flange means 31 being equipped with outwardly projecting pins 33 received in suitable apertures in the doors 16. The door portion 16 further features adjacent its lower extremity and at opposite sides thereof pin means 35 projecting outwardly into vertically disposed slots 37 formed in opposed sides of the inner frame member 23.

Referring again now to FIGURES 2 and 3, there is shown means operative upon door closure to actuate a switch mechanism in control of electrical circuitry effective to render the air conditioner operative or inoperative by direct control of the on-off mechanism. Means designed for this purpose may take the form of a switch 39 having a contact member 39a connected through leads 39b to the off-on circuit of the air conditioner, whereby when the lower door panel portion is closed, the contact member 39a is depressed rearwardly, as in FIGURE 2, to open the circuit and assure that the air conditioner will cease operation without further mechanical manipulation. The switch means 39 may be affixed to the outer frame member 17 or secured in any suitable manner to the housing structure 12 and may be actuated by either of the door portions 16 or 18. Other arrangements will, of course, be manifest to the art.

To briefly review the operation of applicants structure, when the door assembly 14 of this invention is in the closed position of FIGURE 2, grasping the hand tab 29 and drawing the same forwardly causes the upper door portion 16, by provision of the flange means 31 and pins 33 and the pin means 35 and cooperating slots 37, to move arcuately downwardly to the position of FIG- URE 3, simultaneously swinging the lower door portion 18 outwardly and upwardly through an arcuate path upon the pivot means 21. This actuates the switch means 39 to the on-off circuitry of the air conditioner, exposes the grilled 25 permitting outward flow of cooling air, and provides an air inflow passage at 22. As a further advantage, when the lower door is open, ready access to the filter of the conditioner is thereby provided, avoiding the necessity of removing the front face of the unit to accomplish periodic filter changes.

Numerous modifications and variations may of course be effected in the novel construction herein disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In an air conditioning unit having a housing, refrigeration mechanism therewithin which includes an evaporator and a fan for inducing air flow there'over, the improvement which comprises a front door assembly for said housing comprised of an outer open frame member fixedly secured to said housing and an inner frame member swingably carried by said outer frame member; and

a plurality of door portions connected to said inner and outer frame members, one of said door portions being pivotally mounted upon said outer frame member and slidably associated with said inner frame member and the other of said door portions being immovably secured to said inner frame member, whereby when said one door portion is drawn downwardly in a generally arcuate direction the other door portion is swung outwardly to provide air ingress and egress to the interior of the unit housing.

2. An air conditioning unit as defined in claim 1, in which the swingable inner frame member supports a grille in air communication with the housing interior when said one door portion is in an open position and in which said one door portion mounts pin means slidable in slots in said inner frame member.

3. A door assembly for enclosing the front of a room air conditioning unit housing, which comprises a pair of pivotally connected inner and outer frame members the latter of which is rigidly secured to the housing front, bracket means mounted by said outer frame member, a first panel portion pivotally connected to said bracket means and including pin means received in corresponding slots in said inner frame member, and a second panel portion integral with said inner frame member, the first panel portion being effective upon pivotal movement in a downward direction to swing said second panel portion in an upward direction to provide dual directional air paths communicating with the interior of the conditioner housing.

4. An air conditioning unit as defined in claim 1, which includes control means electrically connected to said evaporator fan and actuated upon movement of said other door portion to open and close the circuit to said fan.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,018,642 1/1962 Lathrop 62262 3,165,053 1/1965 Christie 62262 3,274,919 9/1966 Wegman 62262 3,306,069 2/1967 Wegman 62262 3,323,319 6/1967 Graser 62262 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

zg;;g-; UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3J+8l,l53 Dated December 2, 1969 Inventor(s) Walter W. Hoyle It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line ll after "in" delete closed Column 2, lines 35 8c 36, delete "coil 28 disposed in compartment 15, expansions means 30 and evaporator";

Column 3, line 21, for "doors" read door Column 3, line 55, for "grilled" read grille SIGNED AND SEALED JUN 2 .1970

$ Anew mama M. Fletcher, It.

Attesting Officer mum: I. MHUYIGR, JR Commissioner of Patents 

